1979.45
Untitled
Artist
Abraham Walkowitz
(1878-1880 - 1965)
Title
Untitled
Creation Date
ca. 1916
Century
20th century
Dimensions
12 1/16 in. x 8 13/16 in. (30.6 cm x 22.38 cm)
Object Type
watercolor
Creation Place
North America, United States
Medium and Support
pastel, charcoal, and watercolor with traces of graphite on off-white wove paper
Credit Line
Museum Purchase, George Otis Hamlin Fund
Copyright
This artwork may be under copyright. For further information, please consult the Museum’s
Copyright Terms and Conditions.
Accession Number
1979.45
“Art has its own life,” Abraham Walkowitz once stated. “One receives impressions from contacts or objects and then new forms are born in equivalents of line or color improvisations . . . the artist creates a new form of life.” Walkowitz created this composition while working on a series he called the “New York Improvisations.” The experimental series begins with Cityscape, which pictures a skewed view of city buildings, and moves increasingly toward abstract interpretations of the urban environment. In this composition, Walkowitz brings together various shapes and adds a sense of depth by shading the edges of each shape. He captures a swirling energy with his hurried lines that all curve in on one another, leaving the viewer with only an inkling of the original subject. The series was influenced in part by his exposure to the cubist works of Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque.
